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Daily industrial news and top headlines for plant and maintenance managers

The new Type II AccuFlow Safety Can from Justrite Mfg. Co. (Mattoon, IL) was built to meet OSHA and the National Fire Protection Association requirements. Protection features include an internal stainless steel flame arrester that dissipates heat to prevent flashback ignition and a gasketed, self-closing leak proof lid that automatically vents to guard against explosion.

OHAUS Corporation (Pine Brook, NJ) has launched the Navigator Series of portable scales. The Navigator Series offers sensors for “touchless” operation, fast response time, and overload protection. The touch-free control of tare, zero, print, function, and display backlight helps to minimize touching the keypad, avoiding cross-contamination.

The MiniTest 650 from Gardco (Pompano Beach, FL) is ideal for any measuring task in the finishing industry. Its dual sensor identifies the substrate material and upon contact with the surface, the gage automatically switches to the suitable measuring principle based on the user’s application.

The 4SIGHT Yard and Dock Management System from 4Front Engineered Solutions (Carrollton, TX) combines RFID and GPS technology to increase productivity in loading docks and yards. Designed to alleviate bottlenecks in the dock and yard areas, 4SIGHT enables facility managers to effectively schedule and facilitate loading and unloading at various dock positions.

MISUMI USA , Inc., a subsidiary of MISUMI Corporation, part of MISUMI Group, Inc ., has announced the addition of a significant number of frequently ordered components to its distribution center in Elk Grove Village, IL, near Chicago. As the result of increasing demand for certain sizes and styles of many popular MISUMI mechanical and factory automation components, more than 8,700 items have been added to the local stock, effective immediately.

Many see the U.S. economy as recovering. Still, there are structural changes in the economy that are subtle but very important. The U.S. is ignoring manufacturing, budget deficits, trade deficits, China’s manipulation of their currency, the decline of R&D, the loss of our technologies to China, and the decline of good paying jobs for the middle class.

We kicked off this year’s Energy Intelligence Report by going straight to the source to determine which energy and sustainability variables were really driving purchasing decisions among manufacturers. Much like last year’s report, this competitor breakdown aims to give you a cross-sectional view of what other manufacturers are looking at when trying to make their operations more efficient.

Anyone working in manufacturing understands that conveying systems are necessary and, to a lesser extent, a necessary evil that can cause some serious injuries if you, and your operators, aren’t careful. Headlines detailing particularly grotesque industrial accidents should be enough to keep conveyor safety top-of-mind, but it never hurts to have your own “cheat sheet.

For decades, manufacturing facilities have been lit largely by old technological behemoths, like incandescent bulbs. Because they generally reside on the rather tall ceiling of a typical manufacturing facility, these lights can generally go unseen — until they burn out.
Due to recent efforts to decrease energy usage, many manufacturers have turned to various new technologies — halogen, fluorescent, and LED — all of which offer equal amount of light output for less wattage.

The TechAngle Electronic Torque Wrench from Snap-on Industrial (Kenosha, WI) is now available with a cycle-counting feature which helps track required calibration cycles of torque-measuring instruments. Designed to do the work of four torque wrenches, the wrench allows users to set the torque value in Newton meters, foot pounds, or inch pounds, and angle of rotation.

''It's possible to create a robot that speaks using the exact same method that human beings do,'' says robot inventor Hideyuki Sawada. His robotic mouth uses air to create sounds instead of electronic speakers.
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While Boeing and Airbus racked up orders at the Paris Air Show in June, analysts warned their duopoly could soon be history, as Russia, China and Canada look for a slice of the action.
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Researchers at North Carolina State University have created an eco-friendly super absorbent foam they say could revolutionize efforts to purify drinking water in developing countries and disaster-stricken areas.
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Virginia Tech's Dennis Hong leads a team that made a car for blind drivers. Driving is no longer an activity solely reserved for those who can see. A blind person driving a vehical safely and independently is no longer an impossible task.
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Your employer may require credit and criminal history checks. Now your social media history may get the same treatment. Some companies are now using services to check potential a employee's social media background.
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IUKA, Miss. (AP) — Dennen Steel Corp., a contract stamping manufacturer of steel products, has broken ground for construction of a new 50,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Luka, Miss.
The ground-breaking was held Wednesday at the construction site.
Chairman and CEO Andrew Dennen said in a statement that the $7.

A month after flooding disrupted the economy along the Mississippi River, Mississippi's employment picture improved slightly in June even though the state had 1,700 fewer non-farm jobs than a year ago.
The Department of Employment Security said Wednesday that 2,300 jobs vanished from May to June.

NATICK, Mass. (AP) — Boston Scientific Inc. plans to spend $150 million in China over five years to expand operations and staff in the rapidly developing nation, the medical device maker said Wednesday.
The company says its investment will include establishing a new manufacturing plant to serve China, and a training center where doctors can learn how to use medical technology.

DETROIT (AP) — General Motors' CEO says the company's European car business is not for sale.
There have been numerous media reports that GM wanted to shed Opel. The struggling brand employs 18,500 workers and has manufacturing plants throughout Europe.
High labor costs and sagging European sales caused a $1.

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A federal report released Tuesday found management was negligent in a fatal Feb. 24 accident in which a man was trapped on a conveyer belt at a quartzite mine near Salt Lake City.
Amy Louviere, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration, said a fine will be levied against Bolinder Resources LLC, since the investigation concluded management "engaged in aggravated conduct constituting more than ordinary negligence.